President Barack Obama places his hand on the shoulder of Mark Barden, left, who lost his son, Daniel, in Newtown, as Barden speaks during a news conference in the Rose Garden of the White House, in Washington, on Wednesday about the defeat in the Senate of a bill to expand background checks on guns.
Associated Press photo

The United States is a nation that has an overabundance of guns. About half of Americans say someone in their household owns at least one rifle, shotgun or pistol. And many households have multiple firearms.

It's estimated there are over 300 million firearms either owned or available for sale across the country. The No. 1 reason? About half of gun buyers cite self-defense. Next on the list are hunters, who make one third of the purchases.

These are the key reasons why Congress — caving in once again to the National Rifle Association — just refused to pass sensible and needed reforms on gun control.

Last Wednesday, at the biggest moment in nearly two decades for those who seek to limit the spread of firearms in America, the U.S. Senate chose to duck the issue.

Republicans, backed by a small group of rural-state Democrats, rejected more extensive background checks for gun purchasers. Also failing in the Senate were proposed bans on assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines. The 90 percent of Americans who support those measures included many gun-owners who reject the NRA's extremism.

Mayor Bloomberg voiced his justifiable outrage as co-founder of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a nationwide group that has grown to represent more than 600 cities.

"President Obama and Vice President Biden deserve credit for their leadership since the Sandy Hook massacre," Mr. Bloomberg said about the campaign for gun control. "But even with some bipartisan support, a common-sense public safety reform died in the U.S. Senate at the hands of those who are more interested in attempting to protect their own political careers — or some false sense of ideological purity — than protecting the lives of innocent Americans."

We wholeheartedly agree with those views.

It's a shame that not even the Dec. 14 massacre of 20 schoolchildren at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn, by a lunatic with an assault weapon could persuade senators to do the right thing.

The Senate came up six votes short of the 60 votes needed to extend federal background checks to almost all gun sales. Measures to ban the sale of rapid-fire military-style rifles and prohibit ammunition magazines with more than 10 rounds also failed.

The NRA and gun industry lobbyists got their way in another shameful display of political influence.

What more will it take to obtain reasonable reforms?

It's estimated that homicides account for more than 10,000 deaths each year in America — about two out of three murders are committed with a gun.

So the White House and other supporters of responsible gun laws aren't giving up on gun reform.

"I see this as just Round One," said Mr. Obama, flanked by relatives of Newtown's victims and former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot in the head in 2011.

Looking ahead to the 2014 congressional elections, the president said, "If this Congress refuses to listen to the American people and pass common-sense gun legislation, then the real impact is going to have to come from the voters."

While we bide our time, the deadly reign of guns in America continues unabated.